The final week of July played out in two acts. Midweek, Meta and Microsoft delivered blockbuster earnings—Meta soared 11%, Microsoft gained 4%—after beating expectations and reaffirming aggressive AI spending. Their results lifted tech and chip stocks, fueling a brief wave of optimism across the market.
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The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged for the fifth straight meeting, pointing to slowing growth and elevated uncertainty. Chair Jerome Powell projected cautious confidence in the economy’s resilience, downplaying tariff effects and suggesting the labor market remained solid.
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But by Friday, that confidence looked misplaced. The July jobs report showed just 73,000 new positions added—well below expectations—with steep downward revisions to prior months. Treasury yields fell, and the odds of a September rate cut jumped above 80%. The same day, the White House announced sweeping new tariffs of up to 41% on imports from Canada, India, and Taiwan, reviving trade risk at a precarious moment.
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The pharmaceutical sector also came under fire after President Trump demanded 17 major drugmakers—including Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Novo Nordisk—cut U.S. prices to match those overseas. While Eli Lilly held steady, broader pharma stocks declined amid fears of heightened policy pressure.
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What began as a strong week for tech ended with a jolt across jobs, trade, and regulatory fronts—casting doubt on the stability Powell suggested and setting a more volatile tone heading into August.

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